Disappointed by God?

August 20, 2024August 19, 2024Todd R 2 Comments

Do you ever feel disappointed by God? Does your experience of Him sometimes not match your expectations? We might wonder where God is in our everyday lives. We may wonder whether we can really trust Him, and we’re probably more likely to feel this way when bad things happen. The Bible tells us in Romans 8:28 –

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Paul (author of Romans) says he knows this, but do we always? Do we trust that good comes from “all things”? And when we don’t see good come, how do we react?

We might think good things are not happening to us because we don’t “love God” enough, so we might blame ourselves. Maybe we think that some things “just happen” and have no purpose. Maybe over time we learn to think most things are like that? We might think Paul didn’t really mean what he wrote about God.

It’s natural to want “good” things. We may want more money, a better job, better relationships, more possessions, and think that when bad things happen, it’s just a matter of time before some corresponding blessing comes along, because God is supposed to work through “all things” for our good. But when it seems like He doesn’t we might feel disappointed. What are we missing?

^{Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash}

Could it be that the problem is with our expectations of God, not with God Himself? For example, do we misunderstand what “good” “things work together for”? Is our definition of “good” the same as His?

Think about what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:26 “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.”

It is not necessarily God’s intention to make us “good” by “worldly standards.” His standards are different, and He doesn’t want us to value the worldly wisdom, which tells us it is “good” to be “powerful” or to be “noble” or even “wise” in the world’s eyes. God has more important things in mind.

So, what is the “good” that everything works towards? Paul wrote in Romans 8:29, which comes right after the earlier verse about how “all things work together for good”:

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” – Romans 8:29

The “good” that God works for is our conformity to the image of Christ. Not our pre-conceived definition of “good” based on our values, or the world’s. He won’t use “all things” to give us more of what the world thinks is important.

What does it mean to be conformed to the image of Jesus? In Jesus we see the perfect image of the love of God, described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 like this:

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful”

So, God, through “all things,” works to make us more patient and kinder. Less envious, boastful, arrogant and rude. He makes us less insistent on our own way, and therefore less irritable and resentful.

Therefore, we might have to change what we value. We must modify our priorities. Anything that happens to us, whether we consider it “good” or not, God can use to make us more like Christ. More like the person we will be in heaven. More like the person we should want to be. Then God will not disappoint us.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Listening & Understanding: A Quint of Quotes

August 15, 2024August 10, 2024Todd R 1 Comment

Fellow travelers,

Here is another “Quint of Quotes” from my collection. I hope you find these five somewhat related sayings interesting and thought-provoking.

“Very few people would listen if they didn’t know it was their turn next.” – Robert Conklin, Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker (1921 – 1998)

“Checking the truth of something should come well before getting agitated about it” – Prof. John Staddon of Duke University

“He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that” – John Stuart Mill (1806 – 1873)

“I have often repented of having spoken, but never of having kept silent.” – Saint Arsenius the Deacon (350 – 445 A.D.)

“A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.” – Proverbs 18:2

Walking Safely with God

June 10, 2024June 9, 2024Todd R 1 Comment

Many people, both Christian and non-Christian, think of obedience to God as a dreadful chore, something that robs us of our autonomy and joy. Sometimes people refuse to believe in God because they reject His requirements, and sometimes people resent God because they see Him as making them labor in futility for the perfection He requires. However, we know that salvation does not come from our obedience, but Christ’s, and through God’s grace He reveals Himself to us. Then we learn that the rules we should follow come from a God who loves us and perfectly knows what is good and bad for us – far beyond our own knowledge. Therefore, those rules become our freedom and joy when we follow them willingly. He always knows the best and right choice to make.

Psalm 119 (the longest chapter in the Bible) is a meditation on the benefits of God’s laws for us, and verses 44-45 give us a picture of those benefits:

“I will keep your law continually,
forever and ever,
and I shall walk in a wide place,
for I have sought your precepts.”

The central idea here is that when we are obedient to God, we “shall walk in a wide place,” but what does that mean? How does that benefit us?

Think about walking along a mountain path, or on stones crossing a river. Does it make a difference how wide that path is, or how big and flat the stones are? If we trip and fall on a narrow place, we may fall into a river or off a cliff. However, if we fall in a wide place on a mountain path or on a very large rock, we may scrape a knee or our hands, but the consequences won’t be as severe as falling off a cliff!

The idea of walking in a wide place brings to mind the contrast between the consequences of following our own way versus following God’s. Going our own way can not only have worse consequences now, in this world, but it can also have consequences in eternity. Never repenting of going our own way at all leads to an eternity banished from God’s presence and blessings. But even if we are saved, failure to follow God can rob others of God’s blessings for them that He intends through us and can influence our experience in heaven. Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 that there are rewards in heaven for those who follow Him, as well as “loss” for not doing so. So, doing whatever we please has consequences, some of which may be eternal.

In contrast, obedience to God is like walking in a safe place, where any negative consequence is temporary, or comes with a corresponding blessing. We may get a scraped knee, but we don’t fall off a cliff, suffering permanent damage, death or other loss. Following God’s word can’t keep all bad things from happening to you, but it can limit the worldly consequences, and eliminate the eternal consequences.

Therefore, seek God’s guidance and follow it, and we “shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts.”

It’s a better path to follow than any other.

Manning the Watchtower

May 3, 2024Todd R 1 Comment

“I will take my stand at my watchpost
and station myself on the tower,
and look out to see what he will say to me,
and what I will answer concerning my complaint.” – Habakkuk 2:1

People like to look for patterns and predictability in the world, and even in God’s behavior. But in Habakkuk’s case, he saw a situation that didn’t make sense to him, that God would use Babylon to brutally punish His people in Judah. God knew it wouldn’t make sense to Habakkuk, saying “I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.”[1]

Habakkuk would have gone into a private corner to sulk, but instead he brought it to God and was willing to be patient and wait to see how He would answer.

Is there something that doesn’t make sense right now in your life? In my experience, there almost always is. Therefore, be as vigilant and patient as Habakkuk. Take your place in watchful hope on the watchtower and see what God will do.

[1] Habakkuk 1:5b